The ultimate romantic Irish Valentine's MixTape

Ah, the lost art of the mixtape. For decades, there was only one real way to declare your love, and that was the mixtape.

For those of you too young to have done this, or seen the episode of Friends where they explain it, a mixtape is dead simple: a selection of romantic songs given to the object of your affection to show you care enough to spend hours playing tunes into the input jack of your cassette player.

But just because the days of compilation tapes in the car radio are behind us doesn't mean the mixtape is dead. If you've agreed a small budget with your other half or just want to add a personal touch, this is the way to go.

You might have trouble finding tapes these days, so we've made a Spotify playlist with the tracks below – but a CD would work best. That way, you can spend time on making your own cover, just like a lovesick teenager of the 80s.

These are, obviously  just suggestions. As long as you follow the rules of a good mixtape - start slow, listen to the lyrics, and design great packaging (among others) - you'll do fine. The best mixtape is the one with a personal touch!

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Have I Told You Lately That I Love You

Start strong, and start slow. This Van Morrison classic is just the message you're trying to convey (right?) and it's a great slow, romantic starter - exactly what you want.

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Your Face

'I was thinking about your face,' Glen sings in this Frames classic. 

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Falling Slowly

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova made this song famous, mostly for its appearance in Once. It's arguable we're breaking a mixtape rule here by including two songs from the same artist - Glen Hansard is the frontman from The Frames too – but they go well together. Pick at least one.

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The Lady in Red

Cheesy? Yes. But it's very well known for a reason – it's an absolute classic.

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Runaway

The Corrs aren't for everyone, but the soft violin-driven pop here has a little quicker tempo and drums - just the thing to bridge the gap before...

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Sweetest Thing

Keeping it soft, but injecting a little bit of a rock vibe - just the ticket after several slow songs. 

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A Man is in Love

This is Celtic rock more than a straight Irish song, but this one deserves a spot on the list nonetheless. How do you know a man is in love? 'I heard him talk too much, whenever you're near.'

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Haunted

A key part of the romantic mixtape is injecting some energy after a while. You don't want to be slow dancing all night. Haunted starts slow before building up to a rock ballad. Perfect. If you can't stand Shane McGowan's throaty voice, give this one a miss – but the contrast between him and the softness of Sinead O'Connor is pretty excellent.

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Still In Love With You

Now that we've gotten to romance with guitars, it's time to sneak in this Thin Lizzy track to keep the tempo up.

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Red Cortina

The Saw Doctor's classic has plenty of upbeat energy, but isn't too fast or too slow. 'First love stays with you forever,' is the main hook - so it may not suit some!

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The Voyage

Make sure you swap out this Christy Moore song for 'Brown Eyes' if your object of desire has any eye colour remotely close to brown.

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The Dunnes Stores Girl

Might just be one for residents here in Ireland, where Dunnes Stores is one of the biggest supermarket chains. This track is about the checkout girl who rules John Spillane's world. 'I would wait in line 'til Kingdom Come,' - we've all been there.

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True Friends

This isn't really a love song, but true love isn't just about romance. True friends never part, indeed.

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The Finale: Hold Me Now

Because after all that romance, we all need to crack a smile. Johnny Logan's finest.

Bonus: tracks you've told us to include

We knew writing this that we'd come across some different tastes. Here are a few extra suggestions to swap in for tracks you don't like:

Black is the Colour

Moonshine Whiskey (live)

Rainy Night in Soho

I Love You

Eve The Apple of my Eye

The great Defector

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There are a bunch more we could have included. What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below.

Grab the Spotify playlist here.